Lampbrella concept builds pop-up rain shelter into street lights

If you've ever found yourself outside on a rainy day without an umbrella, designer Mikhail Belyaev has felt your pain. It's a common situation that inspired him to create the Lampbrella, a street light with a built-in umbrella shade that opens automatically when it starts to rain.

A sensor in the lamppost detects rain, causing an electric motor inside to lift open a 7-foot canopy large enough for several people to take shelter under. There's also a motion sensor that is used to determine if anyone's standing underneath. If it doesn't see anyone making use of the canopy, it closes after three minutes.

In the event that he Lampbrella fails to open, there's a button on the lamppost that can be used to open the canopy manually. We suppose it could also be used to raise the umbrella to provide shade on especially sunny days. Belyaev has presented his concept to a city department in Moscow, where he lives, but at present there aren't actually any plans to put the Lampbrella into production.